AbstractIntroduction: Autopsy plays a crucial role in arriving at the cause of death. At the same time it also unravels a
multitude of findings which would not have clinically manifested. This study throws light on many such findings
which would have otherwise gone unnoticed.
Aim: This study aims at determining the spectrum of histopathological findings including inflammatory, non
neoplastic and neoplastic lesions which were found incidentally and were unrelated to the cause of death with
special emphasis on interesting lesions.
Materials and Method: A retrospective study of medicolegal autopsies for three years i.e., from January 2017 to
December 2019, was undertaken in a tertiary care centre to determine the spectrum of histopathological findings
unrelated to the cause of death.
Statistical Analysis: Individual lesions were expressed in numbers and incidence in percentage along with the
cause of death.
Results: The study consisted of a series of 288 autopsy cases out of which 116 cases had some incidental finding
unrelated to the cause of death. Atherosclerosis was the most common incidental finding (67 cases, 57.75%) followed
by fatty liver (41 cases, 35.34%).Neoplastic lesions accounted for 6.9% of all cases.
Conclusion: This study has elucidated common incidental findings on autopsy reflecting their prevalence in
general population along with afew neoplastic lesions that were discovered incidentally like psammomatous
meningioma, leiomyoma of kidney and serous cystadenofibroma of ovary.
Keywords: Medicolegal autopsies; Incidental finding; Atherosclerosis; Fatty liver